If Dad’s drink is a Bloody Mary and he loves a shrimp cocktail, combine both concepts into this two-in-one “cocktail.”

The recipe was inspired by Farm To Market Bloody Mary Pickles. But you can use your favorite Bloody Mary recipe and add the pickles and shrimp. Here’s THE NIBBLE’s favorite Bloody Mary mix recipe.

While the top photo shows only 1 shrimp (the original Farm To Market idea was a cocktail garnish), we recommend 3-4 large shrimp (or jumbo, as the budget allows).

BLOODY MARY SHRIMP COCKTAIL RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. CHILL the Bloody Mary mix and the vodka in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. (We normally keep our vodka in the fridge. Eighty-proof spirits will not freeze.)

2. TOSS the shrimp with 1 tablespoon lemon juice in large bowl. Thread 1 shrimp and 1 pickle chip on a long toothpick or cocktail pick. Repeat with the remaining shrimp and pickles. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. PREPARE the Bloody Mary mix (or open the store-bought bottle) and combine with vodka.

4. POUR into glasses and garnish each with a shrimp skewer.
 
MORE BLOODY MARY EXCITEMENT

Garnish a Bloody Mary with shrimp—as many as you like (photo courtesy Farm To Market). Center: Use your julep glasses, stemware, or whatever you have that works (photo MackenzieLtd.com). Bottom: More jumbo shrimp, less Mary (photo MackenzieLtd.com).

Top: Jackfruit sold online from Melissas.com in California. Bottom: Growing on the tree at the Regional Agricultural Research Center, Ambalavayal, India. The fruit grows directly out of the trunk or branches. The exterior is covered with spiny, knobby bumps and ripens to greenish yellow (photo Wikipedia).

The jackfruit, (Artocarpus heterophyllus), is a member of the Moraceae botanical family, also referred to as the fig family or the mulberry family. This family of flowering plants grows in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, where jackfruit is widely cultivated.

The jackfruit tree is believed to have originated in the southwestern rain forests of the Indian Subcontinent, around present-day Kerala. The fruit is the largest tree-borne fruit: The largest reaching 80 pounds in weight, 35 inches in length and 20 inches in diameter.

Jackfruit is nutritious: rich in carbohydrates, proteins, potassium, calcium, iron, and vitamins A, B, and C.

Fresh jackfruit flesh is pink or yellow. When eaten fresh, it has hints of mango and melon. The flesh is soft, flaky (the petals) and sweet.

Jackfruit may be a tropical delight, but it’s also a labor of love to carve out the edible fruit.

The jackfruit is composed of hundreds to thousands of individual flowers, and it is the fleshy petals that are eaten. And they must be dug out of the flesh. (Don’t worry, you only have to remove a score or two of bracts*.)

Our first jackfruit experience was exasperating: We didn’t see this YouTube video. Instead, we winged it, anticipating slicing it like a melon. Wrong!

Our blundering effort to dig out the bract and perianth* “nuggets” shouldn’t stop anyone with patience (and the video) from carving one up for family an friends. But first, look at these photos of removing the edible fruit from the flesh. It’s like getting the arils out of a pomegranate, but not as easy.

You can also buy canned jackfruit in brine, syrup or water; and dried jackfruit for snacking or cooking.

IDEAS FOR JACKFRUIT DISHES

Beyond a fresh fruit or fruit salad dessert or shack, you can use jackfruit to make mousse, pie, pudding, smoothies, sorbet and so on. You can purée it into a sauce for sweet or savory dishes.

 
You’ll have no trouble finding jackfruit recipes on line. For starters, check out these jackfruit recipes.
 
HOW SHOULD YOU PREPARE JACKFRUIT?

Jackfruit can also be enjoyed unripened and cooked. The flesh of the Jackfruit can be used in desserts, as well.

 
BEYOND FOOD

BBQ jackfruit has become popular among vegetarians and vegans. Top: A pulled BBQ Jackfruit sandwich. Here’s the recipe from MoreVeganBlog.com. Bottom: No prep work required: Just look for ready-to-heat-and-eat BBQ jackfruit from Upton’s Naturals, a producer of prepared vegan foods. They suggest using it on a sandwich topped with coleslaw, in salads, wraps or over rice.

Ready to add jackfruit to your culinary experience? The best way to start is to read up about buying and preparing it. Here are instructions with beautiful photography from SheSimmers.com.
 
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*A perianth is the outer part of a flower, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and corolla (petals). A bract is a specialized leaf.
  

[2] Top the waffles with salsa, syrup or this pineapple-jalapeno salsa recipe from Whole Foods Markets (photo © Whole Foods).

What to do with leftover mashed potatoes? You can heat them up, make Shepherd’s Pie, or whip up these Mashed Potato Waffles for breakfast or brunch.

This recipe, from the Idaho Potato Commission, was This was created as a vegan recipe. We used conventional buttermilk (homemade!), cheese and eggs. could be sweet instead of savory, but savory waffles with garlic, cheese and scallions are a nice change of pace. It can also be used with mashed sweet potatoes.

We served them with a side of Applegate sausage, and a baby arugula and spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
 
RECIPE: MASHED POTATO WAFFLES

Ingredients

 
For The Garnish

 
Optional Condiments

1. MAKE the vegan buttermilk. Combine ¼ cup non-dairy milk with ¼ teaspoon lemon juice; allow to sit for 15 minutes.

2. PREHEAT the waffle maker and grease it with cooking spray.

3. WHISK together the oil, vegan buttermilk and egg replacer, in a large bowl. Stir in the mashed potatoes, scallions and cheese until well-combined. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder, if using.

4. WHISK together in a small bowl the baking powder and baking soda. Fold the flour mixture into the potato mixture until well-combined.

5. SCOOP 1/2 to 2/3 cup of the mixture (depending on the size of your waffle maker) into the prepared waffle maker, spreading it into an even layer. The potato mixture will not spread or expand as much as a regular waffle, so take care to spread it evenly.) Close the lid and let the waffle bake until golden brown.
6. REPEAT with the remaining potato mixture. NOTE: If the waffle is too wet, add more flour to the mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a doughy consistency.

7. TOP the waffles with vegan sour cream, garnish and serve.

 
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*The Idaho Potato Commission recommends Follow Your Heart Vegan Egg. You can also use EnerG or make your own: For the equivalent of one egg, combine 1 tablespoon ground chia/flax seed mixed with 2 tablespoons of warm water. Allow to thicken.

†If your mashed potatoes are plain, add in 1 teaspoon powdered garlic as well as salt and pepper, to taste.
  

Whether Dad likes pancakes or fried eggs for breakfast, make Father’s Day special: Shape his breakfast with egg/pancake molds.

If you can’t pick up molds in time, you can use cookie cutters. Since they don’t have handles, you’ll need a spatula, kitchen tongs and dexterity to lift the cooked eggs.
 
HOW ELSE CAN YOU USE THE MOLDS?

We’ve molded:

 
 
WHAT WOULD YOU MOLD?

We’d love to have a longer list of foods to shape with our egg/pancake molds.

Top: I [heart] you, Dad (photo and recipe from The Baker Chick). Bottom: A set of molds from Neon, available on Amazon. The handles fold down for easy storage.

Top: One sign of a good lobster: long antennae (photo courtesy I Love Blue Sea. Center: Mmm, mmm: a lobster Platter at North River Lobster Company. Bottom: Different lobster have different colors, both live and when cooked. This one is from Portugal (photo courtesy Vermillion Restaurant).

Planning to buy live lobsters for National Lobster Day (June 15th) or Father’s Day (June 19th)? Here are tips from Executive Chef Cenobio Canalizo of Michael Jordan’s The Steak House N.Y.C.
 
 
HOW TO PICK THE BEST LIVE LOBSTER

1. FEEL THE SHELL. There are hard-shell and soft-shell (new-shell) lobsters. It’s just a function of whether the lobsters have recently molted (shed their shells), an annual process.

 
2. GIVE IT A SNIFF. A live lobster should not emit any odor.

3. PICK A LIVELY LOBSTER. The more active the lobster, the more tender the meat. If the lobster is limp when you pick it up, it’s on its last legs. If it isn’t moving at all, it may be dead. Here’s an easy test: If you straighten out the tail, it should swiftly curve back under the body.

4. LOOK FOR LONG ANTENNAE. The longer the antennae, the fresher the lobster. Lobsters in a holding tank will often eat each other’s antennae. If a lobster has been there for a long time, its antennae can be nibbled down—often to the base.

5. DON’T MIND THE COLOR. The top shells are usually dark green or greenish-brown, but they can be black, blue, orange, red, white or yellow. The underbody of a live lobster, particularly the claws, are usually a vibrant red.

6. SIZE MATTTERS. The larger the lobster, the tougher the meat. Chef Cenobio prefers lobsters under two pounds for the most tender and flavorful meat.

7. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. There are many different species of lobster in the world’s oceans, but Chef Cenobio says the best come from Canada and Maine.

8. GENDER DOESN’T COUNT. Most aficionados agree that there is no difference in flavor or texture between male and female lobsters. Females have a small, hard, edible roe called the coral (because of its color). These are the unfertilized eggs of the female. Both genders have the soft, greenish, edible tomalley, which serves as both the liver and pancreas.

9. PAY ATTENTION TO PRICE. Live lobster costs between $9 to $11 dollars per pound. If the price is lower, often the quality is lower as well.
 
 
LOBSTER RECIPE IDEAS and LOBSTER TRIVIA: Check ‘em out.

Michael Jordan’s is uniquely situated, on the balcony overlooking the Main Concourse of Grand Central Terminal. In addition to fine food, you can enjoy the beautiful Concourse architecture and the elaborate ceiling, picturing the constellations. The Terminal, which opened in 1913, is an example of “They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.”